Celebrated Collection of Hebrew Texts on View, on Sale

Jack Lunzer, whose private collection of more than 11,000 Hebrew books and manuscripts is on display at the New York auction house Sotheby’s until February 19, has a line he often repeats: “When two or three Jews get together, they buy a printing press.”

The Valmadonna Trust Library, which is valued at more than $40 million and will be sold as a complete collection by Sotheby’s in a private sale, is a testament to the People of the Book’s drive to write. Bound pages from four continents, and almost 1,000 years of the printed Hebrew word line shelves from floor to skylight in the auction house’s 10th-floor exhibition space.

“Many Hebrew printing presses had ephemeral existences,” explained David Redden, a vice chairman of Sotheby’s, at the exhibition last week.

At various times during the past millennium, Redden explained, Hebrew printing was often summarily outlawed: Presses could bring repute to a town and put it on the map; they could also be run out of town. Printed editions — mostly religious, but also scientific — which were often made in runs of up to several hundred, were burned. “These are really rare books — their brothers and sisters [who] survived,” Redden said, referring to the collection.

From the Codex Valmadonna I, a Pentateuch (the first five books of the bible) written in England in the summer of 1189 — the only existing dated Hebrew text from medieval England before the Jews’ expulsion 100 years later — to a scarce run of The Israel Messenger, an English-language Zionist periodical printed in Shanghai at the turn of the 20th century, each item has a unique history. But cumulatively, they become iterations of something greater: The Valmadonna library, as a whole, is an artifact chronicling the transcendent literature of the Jewish Diaspora.

A decorative border, imprinted by a metal cut frame, adorns the page of a Torah held open to the portion of The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1), in which the Israelites celebrate their freedom from Egypt. The border is first seen in Spanish texts of the 1480s. After the 1492 expulsion, Spanish Jews took their tools with them, and the frame was used in a Hebrew text printed in Portugal — only to vanish and appear once again in books printed in Constantinople following the Portuguese expulsion, in 1497.

Lunzer, who has been collecting books since he was 10, stacked three or four books deep in every corner of his house in London. Now in his 80s, he sat at the exhibition last week in a suit and a white yarmulke, delighted to talk about the collection that his daughter, Myra Waiman, described as his sixth child. “This is not only the history of the Bible, but the history of humanity — of decency, irrespective of color, creed. It’s the first book; it is our guide.”

The Valmadonna Trust Library is on view through Thursday, February 19, at Sotheby’s, 1334 York Avenue at 72nd Street, New York, (212) 606-7000.

Top Stories

The Jewish Daily Forward welcomes reader comments in order to promote thoughtful discussion on issues of importance to the Jewish community. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, The Jewish Daily Forwardrequires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. Vigorous debate and reasoned critique are welcome; name-calling and personal invective are not. While we generally do not seek to edit or actively moderate comments, our spam filter prevents most links and certain key words from being posted and The Jewish Daily Forward reserves the right to remove comments for any reason.

AIPAC is kicking off its conference under a cloud of controversy over Benjamin Netanyahu's planned speech.
As the meeting starts this morning, a fresh dispute raged over Shmuley Boteach's nasty attack ad aimed at White House security chief Susan Rice.

Of Rosanne Barr, King David Kalakaua and 9 other things about Jewish Hawaii

Yum. Deli Man is a mouthwatering journey to Jewish delis across the country, from New York to Houston - our review.

The Forward occasionally sends promotional e-mails to our subscribers on behalf of selected sponsors, whose advertising supports our independent journalism. We hope you will look at their messages and find their offers interesting to you, but if you would like to opt out of receiving them, please uncheck this box.